The comment I wanna make is why focus on, why does medicine focus on weight, and not focus on blood pressure, cholesterol, some of the things that are correlated with weight over a lifetime. And I think it’s really important that we move away from a treatment-based health care system to one that looks at prevention. And in order to be able to focus on prevention, you have to look at things that, our risk factors. It may not be a one-for-one, you maybe, have, you maybe obese, you may lead a normal healthy lifestyle without ever developing the consequences that many people developed. But if you wait to have the conversation with somebody, when their blood pressure is sky high, or their cholesterol shy high, or they’re having heart failure from sleep apnea, you’ve waited too long. And so, it’s important, I hear the comments here about stigmatization. We need to destigmatize the discussion, so that you can have a conversation with somebody regardless of their body size about why it’s important to exercise everyday, and make healthy choice about your diet. But if you don’t have that conversation with someone who’s overweight and obese about what is likely to happen with their health, you are not doing your patient any favors at all. You have to do it in a way where you’re supporting them to make the decisions about their life. But it’s about prevention, and not just treatment.
You can’t make it too politically and correct even have the discussion.
That’s right.
Ok, so closing statements from each person, and then we’re gonna button it up.
I think that beauty comes from within, not from without. But I don’t want people to fall into the trap that if they want to lose weight that they felt that they can’t do it. I don’t want them thinking that just because they’ve been overweight for a million years, have tried every diet out there, have yoyo up and down a million times. If they truly want to get to a healthy weight, it doesn’t matter how long you’ve been overweight or how much you weigh, the only way you’ll never lose weight is if you stop trying.
Crystal.
I think women have a problem with self-hatred, and lack of confidence. I believe that there’s absolutely aprejudice in thiscountry to anyone over, you know, the size. Probably at 10, and I think that’s very sad, and I think that, you know, if this country got over that, and maybe sort of accepting, you know, different types of people, maybe women won’t feel so pushed down, and maybe they will take it, even to the next step from where they already are and they’ve come so far. I would like to see that happen, and I’m so proud of women, and I really think that people need to be an individual to find success. Be happy with who you are, and then go out and live your life.
Thank you for those words. And, Meme.
If we’re gonna do anything about reversing the obesity trends in the US, we’re gonna have to take most of our resources and focus on the pre-pregnancy to H5 bracket before children have developed their body compositions and eating, exercise habits. It may not be in the Constitution, but it is in Declaration of Independence that we have the right to pursue happiness. And without your health, you don’t have that. Every child born in this country should have a chance of being healthy, should have a chance of pursuing happiness, we owe that to them. So let’s focus on the pre-pregnancy to five-year-olds, and foster a generation H for healthy.
Maryann.
My body and my health don’t look like everybody else’s body and their health. Everyone is an individual. Everyone has their own challenges when it comes to their health however that’s defined. And I think that, it’s incredibly damaging to judge someone and their health levels based solely on this one factor. It’s ridiculous. And it’s reached a point in our society where, it’s not just, you know, fatty, fat, fat people like me, it’s trickling down to people of all sizes, and children and where actively damaging ourselves by being obsessed with this one number instead of doing things that are actually good for us.
Before let you go, I just wanna fall up on one thing that we shout across about that I don’t wanna let drop which is, Crystal, refer to you as fat-phobic, are you?
I don’t, a phobia, no! Do I wanna do everything in my power to eat healthfully and exercise regularly so I never am in a position of overweight or obese. Yes, that’s not...
I question you, what do you, when you see a fat person, what is your judgment of them?
I don’t always have a judgment whatsoever whether I see a fat person or not. I just don’t live in a mentality you are describing.
Ok, I have a question. But you did, just, I’m curious for a wise. Did you refer to fat people as rapist against their own body?
No, not at all. What I one time talked about how food marketers try to excuse themselves from what they do to those who consume those products by saying that the people even know they were hurt, they enjoyed it. And I said that’s a horrible and insidious excuse, they are so responsible. So what you said is absolutely nothing that I’ve ever said.
Thank you all so much, the audience included for being here. You’ve had very insightful, very emotionally deep thinks to say tonight, and I think it’s really added to the debate. I wanna thank you all for being here, I wanna thank you for listening and staying. We could be here all night, so we’re gonna take this discussion off line, you could go to ABCnews.com. Thank you for joining us in this Face Off. |